Joystiqhttp://www.joystiq.com
Joystiqhttp://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gifJoystiqhttp://www.joystiq.com
en-usCopyright 2015 AOL, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/11/17/g4-channel-shutting-down-for-good-this-month/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/11/17/g4-channel-shutting-down-for-good-this-month/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/11/17/g4-channel-shutting-down-for-good-this-month/#comments
NBC Universal is putting an end to its G4 cable television network after more than a decade of operation, Nebraska affiliate Great Plains Communications reported earlier this month.

G4 aired gaming-focused television shows like X-Play and Attack of the Show before ceasing its production of original programming in 2012. The channel was to be rebranded as an Esquire network in 2013, but fell back on airing re-runs of older series after conversion plans were abandoned.

Kansas-based cable provider Golden Belt Telephone confirms that G4 will be taken off the air on November 30.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>esquire-networkg4g4-networkg4tvnbc-universalshutdowntelevisionMon, 17 Nov 2014 21:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2014/08/02/usa-now-syfy-now-apps-bring-psych-burn-notice-to-xbox-one/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/08/02/usa-now-syfy-now-apps-bring-psych-burn-notice-to-xbox-one/http://www.joystiq.com/2014/08/02/usa-now-syfy-now-apps-bring-psych-burn-notice-to-xbox-one/#comments
Xbox Entertainment Studios may be closing, but that doesn't mean that it won't act as the home for plenty of other studios' television and film projects. NBCUniversal, for example, is more than happy to provide the Xbox One with two of its networks' "TV Everywhere" apps: USA Now and SyFy Now.

The USA Now app grants Xbox One owners access to shows like Psych, Burn Notice, White Collar and Graceland, while the SyFy Now app offers up such content as Warehouse 13, Being Human and Face Off. If you're a fan of Trion Worlds' MMO shooter Defiance, the SyFy Now app will offer you a chance to catch up on the events of the show that it ties into - also called Defiance.

USA Now and SyFy Now; because after all, it's our entertainment and we need it now!

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>microsoftnbc-universalsyfysyfy-nowtelevisionusausa-nowxbox-oneSat, 02 Aug 2014 22:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/09/report-g4-spared-an-esquire-network-makeover/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/09/report-g4-spared-an-esquire-network-makeover/http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/09/report-g4-spared-an-esquire-network-makeover/#comments
NBC Universal has announced video games cable channel G4 will no longer be converted into the Esquire Network.

An exclusive report on The Hollywood Reporter calls out NBC Universal's Style channel as the unlucky recipient of an Esquire makeover, which will see the now female-focused channel shifting its focus toward mature men. As a result of this news, G4 will continue to operate as-is for the foreseeable future.

The announcement to convert G4 into the Esquire Network came in February, when NBC Universal called out an April 22 re-branding. A week prior to that planned launch, NBC Universal pushed back the launch of the Esquire Network to an unspecified date.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>3dsandroiddsesquire-networkg4iosipadiphonemacmicrosoftmobilenbc-universalnintendopcplaystationplaystation-vitaps3pspsonystylevitawiiwii-uxboxMon, 09 Sep 2013 22:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2012/01/05/neal-tiles-steps-down-as-president-of-g4-adam-stotsky-takes-ove/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/01/05/neal-tiles-steps-down-as-president-of-g4-adam-stotsky-takes-ove/http://www.joystiq.com/2012/01/05/neal-tiles-steps-down-as-president-of-g4-adam-stotsky-takes-ove/#comments
Neal Tiles, formerly president of the G4 television network, stepped down earlier today, and parent company NBCUniversal has announced that Adam Stotsky will take his place. Stotsky is a former president of marketing at NBC, but now will head up the entire G4 network, overseeing everything from programming to publicity and digital operations.

Stotsky is the first big appointment by recently appointed NBCU president Bonnie Hammer, who picked up oversight of G4 and E! last year when Comcast merged with NBC Universal. We don't know exactly what Stotsky plans to put on the schedule at G4 going forward, but if he's taking any cues from his predecessor, it's probably lots more Cheaters and Cops.

There's a lot to love in Zemeckis' time-space continuum-altering Back to the Future trilogy -- it makes sense that Telltale Games wants to know what aspects fans are hoping to see in its upcoming episodic game adaptation of the films. Fans can now participate in a quick survey, choosing some of the time periods, characters and a handful of scenarios which reference iconic moments from the films which they'd like to see in the games. Click past the jump to see some of the sample scenarios presented in the survey.

You can access the questionnaire through Telltale's site, but be forewarned! If you vote for an adventure set in the 1800s featuring Doc Brown's Wild West offspring, and which doesn't feature Biff or hoverboards or time traveling of any sort, we'll come through the internet and open-hand slap you in the face.

Ever since Telltale announced an agreement with NBC Universal to develop an episodic series of games based on Jurassic Park, we've been kept awake at night, wondering just how one goes about defeating a Tyrannosaurus Rex using nothing but an umbrella handle, a lightbulb and a unicycle. There are at least seven ways to do it -- trust us -- but Telltale design director Dave Grossman informed us at E3 that Jurassic Park won't quite fit the company's traditional adventure structure.

"... in the case of Jurassic Park, we've wanted to kind of step out and do something that's cinematically much more serious than the kind of.... you know, we feel like we're getting pigeonholed a little bit as a company that makes funny cartoon games about talking animals, whereas really what we think of ourselves as is a company that makes games about cinema," Grossman said. "And so we want to explore some different territory. How is the gameplay supporting the tension of the scene, and what kind of tension is it? How is the game paced? And so you're going to find all of that stuff in the Jurassic Park series."

While Jurassic Park will feature adventure mechanics deemed "appropriate," it seems its focus won't necessarily be on laid-back lateral thinking. "I don't want to have it be a game about hanging around and solving thinky puzzles at your own pace," Grossman explained. "It just doesn't seem like the right thing to do for that." And while that might seem to suggest an action-oriented approach, Grossman wasn't willing to characterize it to such a simple degree. "You can definitely expect tension elements, let's say. Whether they're action or, well, there are a lot of ways to do that. I think there'll be a liberal mix of stuff in that game."

Let's hope we learn more before Telltale's Jurassic Park begins its monthly excursions from Isla Sorna Nublar this winter.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Back-to-the-FutureDave-Grossmane3-2010EpisodicJurassic-ParkNBC-UniversalpcTelltaleTellTale-GamesUniversalMon, 21 Jun 2010 08:00:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/14/battlestar-galactica-online-trailer-is-out-of-this-world/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/14/battlestar-galactica-online-trailer-is-out-of-this-world/http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/14/battlestar-galactica-online-trailer-is-out-of-this-world/#comments
Some of us may scoff at a browser-based Battlestar Galactica MMO, but for those who just want to see something BSG related on a screen, there's hope in the form of the embedded trailer. It shows a large scale space battle between the Cylons and human survivors, and if that doesn't give you the warm fuzzies then you're probably a frakkin' toaster.

Where Telltale Games is going, it doesn't need roads (because its games are distributed digitally). In addition to the announced Jurassic Park games, the AP reveals that Telltale Games is crafting an episodic game based on Back to the Future, the classic '80s movie trilogy about a time-traveling Delorean, hoverboards, and Nintendo's Wild Gunman (also, people are in it). Telltale has yet to specify gameplay styles, but we expect adventure games similar to Sam & Max, as is Telltale's specialty. We're so pleased Telltale made that deal with NBC Universal.

"The games are going to exist within these worlds," Telltale's Dan Connors told the AP. "I wouldn't call these games sequels per se but a new interpretation of their worlds for a new medium." That means we shouldn't necessarily expect to relive movie moments, but rather experience new stories within the worlds of these games. For Back to the Future, that means that all of human history is open to exploration; for Jurassic Park, it pretty much still means running away from dinosaurs.

The AP notes that both series are due to debut this winter, on the Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, PC and Mac.
[Via Shacknews]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adventureBack-to-the-FuturemicrosoftNBC-Universalnintendopcplaystationps3Telltale-GameswiixboxXbox-360Wed, 09 Jun 2010 11:07:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/10/battlestar-galactica-and-other-nbc-shows-now-available-on-the/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/10/battlestar-galactica-and-other-nbc-shows-now-available-on-the/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/03/10/battlestar-galactica-and-other-nbc-shows-now-available-on-the/#comments
You don't need to read any further. Battlestar Galactica is now available on the PlayStation Store. Each episode will be available in SD and HD, with future episodes arriving on the Store one day after its televised broadcast.

Oh, and the video store has also expanded to include other shows and movies from the NBC/Universal line-up, such as The Office, 30 Rock, Heroes, The 40 Year Old Virgin and Milk. SD content can be downloaded to both a PS3 and PSP, while HD content is for the PS3 only.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>30-rockbattlestar-galacticaheroesnbcnbc-universalplaystation-storethe-officeTue, 10 Mar 2009 17:30:00 ESThttp://www.joystiq.com/2009/02/26/nbc-universal-hops-on-the-xbox-360-bandwagon-in-the-uk/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/02/26/nbc-universal-hops-on-the-xbox-360-bandwagon-in-the-uk/http://www.joystiq.com/2009/02/26/nbc-universal-hops-on-the-xbox-360-bandwagon-in-the-uk/#comments
Finally making its way over to the UK, NBC Universal films can now be enjoyed by one and all in the region via Xbox Live. Announced at a London event by UK Head of Xbox Neil Thompson, gamers in the UK will find Universal Pictures films are already available on the Xbox Live Video Marketplace, with such notable classics as Animal House, Scarface, Cheech and Chong's Next Movie, and Shaun of the Dead leading the charge. As you likely already know, the U.S. has had access to NBC Universal films for some time now, so it's nice to see the UK finally catch up to us.